Lucie Turmel
Real Name: Lucie Turmel Nicknames: No Known Nicknames Location: Banff, Alberta Date: May 17, 1990 Case Details: Lucie Turmel was a twenty-three-year-old cab driver who moved to the resort town of Banff, Alberta, in 1987 to start a new life. She started work at 8PM on the night of May 16, 1990, and spent most of the night picking up people in the downtown tourist area. As the end of her shift approached, she had taken in just over $100. At 1:40AM, she arrived at the Works Night Club on Spray Avenue, planning to pick up one last fare. While there, she spoke to another cab driver, Larry Laundreau. A man and two women entered the back of her cab and she called in the destination to her dispatcher, Bruce. About twelve minutes later, Larry contacted Bruce and asked if he had heard from Lucie; he had not. Bruce asked for her on the radio but did not receive a response. Twenty minutes later, Larry began to search for her. He passed by her last known destination as well as her house. Less than a block away, he spotted her cab. However, she was not driving. He began to follow her cab. For two miles, he tailed the stolen cab while reaching speeds of almost eighty miles per hour. Finally, he cornered the cab on a dead-end street. The unidentified man exited the cab and disappeared into the woods. Tragically, at around that same time, Lucie's body was found in the middle of a road a few miles from where her cab had been abandoned. She had been stabbed repeatedly in the neck. Her murder was the first to occur in the area in over twenty years. The killer only took her jacket, wallet, and $130 from her. Her wallet was later recovered. When her cab was examined, blood was found on the seat, dashboard, and steering wheel. Surprisingly, none of the blood belonged to her. Eighteen hours after the killing, the murder weapon, a kitchen knife stolen from a local hotel, was found in a driveway. This led police to believe that the killer was from out of town. However, Lucie's killer remained unidentified. Suspects: '''An unknown Caucasian male had been seen by another cab driver driving Lucie's car on the night she died. His blood was found in her taxi. He was believed to be in his early twenties. Because the murder weapon was stolen from a hotel, it is believed that the killer was from out of town. Police also would like to locate the three people who were Lucie's last fare. They were believed to have been dropped off in front of a large apartment complex. Most of its renters are people from out of town that are there for work. It is believed that they may have seen Lucie's killer. '''Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of the October 14, 1992 episode. The case was documented on an episode of The Cast that Haunts Me. Results: Solved. In November of 1992, Ryan Jason Love was arrested and charged with Lucie's murder. He became a suspect after one of his roommates told police that the murder weapon was a knife that had belonged to Love. In fact, he had previously worked at the Banff Springs Hotel. Police collected DNA samples from all known suspects except for Love, who refused their request. Two officers went undercover, posed as criminals, and befriended Love. They were then able to get hairs from him. DNA taken from his hairs was matched to the blood found in Lucie's cab. Love was eighteen at the time of the murder and reportedly killed her because he wanted to impress his relatives with money at a family reunion. In 1994, Love was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with parole after twenty years. In June of 1996, he confessed to the murder after all of his conviction appeals were exhausted. In September of 2011, after nineteen years in prison, he was released on parole. Links: * Cab driver murdered in Banff * Murder broadcast * Holiday resort harbors criminals * Arrest finally made * B.C. college student Banff murder suspect * Preliminary trial date set for suspect * Cabbie murder trial continues: Roommate remembers knife * Undercover police powers questioned at trial * Love convicted of killing cabbie * Love gets 20 years * Appeal court rejects cabbie killer request * Murder uncovered on TV * Man who killed Banff cabbie for less than $130 in 1990 gets full parole * Family stoic as cowardly killer paroled * Knife attacker gets parole * Canadian Taxi Driver Homicides * Murder of Lucie Turmel by Ryan Jason Love highlighted on The Case That Haunts Me * Lucie Turmel at Find a Grave ---- Category:Alberta Category:1990 Category:Murder Category:Robbery Category:Solved